Sour Cream Coffee Cake

For whatever reason, when I was a newlywed and found myself in a new town with 0 friends, I discovered Food Network and The Barefoot Contessa and developed a serious girl crush on Ina Garten. Where had she been all my life?? Ohhh, right, living an impossibly posh life in the Hamptons with Broadway producers dropping in at a moments notice. I understand, I understand. 😉 Her recipes are decadent, European, elegant, and for the most part, pretty simple. There was so much to love about her recipes and her personality. Plus, the Hamptons? Mmm, yes please! Going forward, Scott was my taste-tester on a lot of her dishes, and I even had a dinner party for my best friends featuring her beef tenderloin. At the time, my jaw just about hit the floor when I arrived at the grocery store and figured out they wanted what for a few pounds of beef???

This Sour Cream Coffee Cake is another one of my favorites of hers. I hope it graces your breakfast/brunch table soon!

You will need…

For the cake:

  • 1½ sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1½ cups granulated sugar
  • 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cups sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt at room temperature
  • 2½ cups cake flour (or 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour, and 1/4 cup cornstarch)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

  • ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
  • ¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and cut the butter into the mixture with two forks or a pastry cutter until it forms a crumble. Stir in the pecans or walnuts.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a spatula. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, gently spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Carefully flip the cake, streusel-side down, onto a serving plate or platter.

Here’s a link to the video tutorial!

Here’s a handy printable!

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